dj LiTh wrote on Aug 17, 2013, 12:56:A spy agency spying? OMG what were they thinking!?! Seriously, grow a pair, man up, figure out your living in the real world and not some fantasy based on a peice of paper created 200+ years ago

Whether or not you agree with that "peice (sic) of paper created 200+ years ago" is irrelevant. It is the highest law in our country and there is an expectation that it will be followed. I'm dismayed and depressed that as someone who served, and someone who took the oath, "I, DJ, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;" would then take a shit on said document.

Ben Franklin once said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." This is true today as it was more than 200 years ago when it was first uttered. Security and liberty need to be in balance, and with the government indiscriminately hoovering up everyone's personal communication to be "accidentally" searched 3000 times a year, it is not.

We've already seen serious abuses of this data resulting in the NSA supplying the DEA with info and then telling them to cover up the source. And this is just the stuff we know about. And it was all being done in secret where we couldn't have a discussion about the proper amount of surveillance vs. privacy, until Snowden blew the whistle. It was an extremely brave thing to do, and he ruined his life to do so. I'm glad he did.

I did indeed take that oath, and then i saw some pretty messed up shit that makes me believe that human life is more important then lofty ideals. Guess i'm just messed up like that.